One of the social platforms that turned away advertising for Alex Gibney's documentary about Elon Musk has reversed itself — at least for now.
The Hollywood Reporter reported Friday that Meta, TikTok, YouTube and X had all declined to run paid ads promoting the trailer for 'Musk.' When TechCrunch asked Meta about it on Saturday, a spokesperson said: 'This was an error and the ads are being restored.'
The rejections were reportedly justified under rules restricting political content. Meta said last year it would stop accepting political ads in the European Union, while TikTok says it does not run them at all. It is not obvious how a documentary trailer qualifies as campaign advertising, and the film's US distributor, Bleecker Street, told the Hollywood Reporter it is appealing. X's refusal is the least surprising: Musk owns the platform and recently posted that 'Dogshit is worth more respect than Gibney.'
The film itself has been well received. 'Musk' premiered at the Venice International Film Festival this month to almost universally positive reviews and holds a 100 percent 'fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Vulture's Bilge Ebiri called the nearly four-hour documentary a fascinating character study that is 'terrifying' as a warning about the future. It is due in US theatres on October 9.
Distribution has been contentious beyond the ad question. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Universal Pictures was wavering on international distribution, reportedly fearing the Trump administration's reaction; the studio later said it will release the film but is still settling on a strategy.
The episode lands in a widening fight over who decides what politically charged material reaches audiences — and how much discretion platforms keep when the subject of a film owns one of them.
